Selected by Bloody Disgusting’s head critic Meagan Navarro as the best new horror book of last year, Daniel Kraus’ Whalefall is now getting a big screen movie adaptation.

Brian Duffield (Love and Monsters, No One Will Save You) is on board to co-write and direct the movie adaptation of Kraus’ novel, Deadline reports this afternoon.

20th Century Studios has snapped up the distribution rights to the Imagine Entertainment film, and Deadline additionally notes that Kraus will co-write the screenplay with Duffield.

The book is described as The Martian meets 127 Hours.

The storyline follows “a scuba diver in search of his deceased father’s remains who gets swallowed by an 80-foot, 60-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out. It’s a tale about a young man who has given up on life — only to find a reason to live in the most dangerous and unlikely of places.”

Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, and Allan Mandelbaum produce for Imagine Entertainment.

Meagan raved last year, “Kraus’ brisk-paced novel toggles between survival horror and an internal journey through grief in the most propulsive way possible. Jay’s keen survival instincts and the insanely disturbing obstacles that comes from being swallowed alive gets grounded by the melancholy process of forgiveness. It’s the most pulse-pounding read of the year.”

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Last year’s Cocaine Bear managed to spawn a trend even if it wasn’t a huge hit at the box office, with Cocaine Shark following and now Cocaine Werewolf howling our way soon.

Amityville Coke Den isn’t far behind, we assume…

Our friends over at Rue Morgue have provided us with a first look at the upcoming Cocaine Werewolf, which they reveal will be directed by Mark Polonia (director of Cocaine Shark!).

Here’s the synopsis from Cleopatra Entertainment: “Cocaine, cash and a crew filming a low-budget horror movie in the eerie woods of northern Pennsylvania clash when an unexpected visit from a bloodthirsty werewolf literally enters the picture–with deadly results.”

Marie DeLorenzo, Jeff Kirkendall, Titus Himmelberger, Ken Van Sant, Brice Kennedy, Yolie Canales and Noyes Lawton star in Cocaine Werewolf. Tyger Torrez wrote the screenplay.

Expect this one on VOD later this year and find the poster art below.

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Image Credit: Rue Morgue

The post ‘Cocaine Werewolf’ – Upcoming Horror-Comedy Movie Will Huff, Puff, Snort and Kill appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Tobe Hooper’s horror classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and MPI Media Group and Dark Sky Films are planning a year-long celebration.

Here’s everything you need to know, from the press release…

“The festivities are set to kick off with an audience-capturing social activation at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Fans will be treated to the live creation of an ice sculpture unveiling the new 50^th anniversary TCM logo with a chainsaw wielding Leatherface. A local Austin-based ice sculptor will create the bloody carving in real-time using a real chainsaw at The Stay Put located on Downtown Austin’s Historic Rainey Street. The live sculpture demo will take place from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm CST with photo opportunities from 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm.

“Brand ambassadors will be on site with giveaways and additional info about The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: 50th Anniversary Chainsaw Edition. In late 2024, Dark Sky Films will release a multi-disc set, which will include the new 4K UHD edition of the film, a Blu-ray bonus disc containing new extra features, and an exclusive VHS release of the movie. The special edition collector’s set will be housed in a custom created box shaped as a chainsaw that will feature iconic sounds from the film when it is opened.

“Throughout the spring and summer of 2024, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre will continue to treat fans with special appearances and fan panels at various conventions throughout the country including one of the largest Chainsaw reunions ever with twelves guests appearing at this year’s Texas Frightmare Weekend in May.

“In August, the re-release of the restored film will premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, where it is a part of the revered institution’s permanent collection. Following that, screenings of the film will begin in selected theaters around the country, including major events in Los Angeles and Chicago. “Word of Mouth” showings and promotional screenings will kick off the Halloween season at film societies, museums and theaters.”

The story of a van full of young people who happen upon a desolate farmhouse and meet their bloody fate at the hands of a strange and sadistic family — including a masked chainsaw-swinging lunatic known as Leatherface — the 1974 movie created many of the elements that would come to characterize the slasher genre: power tools as murder weapons, the killer as a large, hulking, masked figure, and the systematic killing of helpless young victims one by one.

It’s a good time to be a fan of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, as this year the video game based on the original classic will be getting updates including a new map and new characters.

The post ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ – 50th Anniversary 4K Box Set Will Include a VHS & Chainsaw Packaging! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Circle Collective is looking to tug at your heartstrings with their new science fiction romance With Love and a Major Organ, and we’re exclusively serving up the trailer to you today.

The film screened at a myriad of festivals, including SXSW, Fantasia, Cucalorus, and it will be released theatrically by Circle Collective in NYC on March 29th and in LA on 4/5.

From director Kim Albright, With Love and a Major Organ stars Anna Maguire (Violation, The Hummingbird Project, Saving Private Ryan) as Anabel, a sensitive, empathetic young woman who lives in an alternate universe where self-care is manifested through suppressing emotion entirely. And hearts are readily [physically] removable.

“In a world where everyone’s heart is an object and there’s a strong societal pressure to dampen emotion, lonely Virtual Insurance broker Anabel always follows her heart. At odds with this overly pragmatic society, and after a series of devastating emotional blows, she rips her heart from her chest and gives it to a man she’s fallen for, the strangely unfeeling George.

“Unburdened by her unique yet cumbersome heart, Anabel finds life easier. George (Hamza Haq), on the other hand, begins to feel everything, to the shock of his overbearing mother, Mona. Anabel soon realizes she needs to get her heart back if she’s going to survive.”

Theatrical listings include…

• NYC – March 29th (The Roxy Cinema)
• LA – April 5th (American Cinemathèque)

Veena Sood, Donna Benedicto, and Arghavan Jenati also star.

Julia Lederer wrote the screenplay.

The post ‘With Love and a Major Organ’ Exclusive Trailer – Sci-fi Romance Aims to Rip Your Heart from Your Chest appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Prolific genre filmmaker Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer) quietly released short film “Midnight,” based on a manga by Osamu Tezuka, on Apple’s YouTube channel yesterday. And that’s not even the most impressive part: per THR, the filmmaker shot the thrilling short on an Apple iPhone 15 Pro.

Watch “Midnight” below.

The short film “centers on a late-night taxi driver named Midnight, played by popular Japanese actor Kento Kaku, who roams the streets of Tokyo offering help to those in need. The film follows Midnight as he comes to the aid of a young woman, played by Konatsu Kato, who is struggling to take over her recently deceased father’s truck-driving business while fighting off a nefarious local gang, led by an evil boss played by the acclaimed character actor Yukiyoshi Ozawa.”

The 19-minute comedic action short looks incredible for being shot on an iPhone, and mixes live-action with manga illustrations.

Takashi Miike said in a statement about the promotional project highlighting iPhone 15 Pro’s capabilities, “Mr. Tezuka is something of a god among manga artists so it was an honor to take on the challenge of expressing his work using only iPhone. As we were shooting, I naturally began to challenge myself to think about how we could make a work unique to iPhone, beyond the usual approach to a film. I truly felt that the iPhone has the power to do things that a conventional movie camera can’t.

“Action mode accurately captures the facial expressions of subjects in a scene in a dynamic way, while reflecting their emotions and thoughts. For example, in the scene where Kaede hears news of her father passing away, furiously rushing out to show her sadness. Thanks to iPhone 15 Pro and Action mode, I was able capture such a scene. It is beyond what a conventional stabilizer can do without compromising the high-quality of the film. It is truly a magical feature.

“While Cinematic mode gives the film a more cinematic look, I was even more impressed by the ability to adjust the focus after shooting. You can focus on whatever you want, whenever you want. I hope that game-changing features like this that are impossible with regular photography equipment will be added more and more, and that it will break the conventional thinking of filmmakers.”

Miike is one of Japan’s most prolific filmmakers, with over 100 feature film credits to his name. Miike’s most recent film, Lumberjack the Monster, is still awaiting US distribution.

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